Former Donald Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien abruptly withdrew from Monday’s appearance before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill, citing a family emergency, said the panel.
Stepien was expected to be a key witness as the panel delves into what it calls the “big lie,” the defeated Republican president’s false allegations of voter fraud that fueled his tireless efforts to void the 2020 election and drove a host of his supporters besieged the United States Capitol.
The committee said Stepien’s attorney would appear and make a formal statement, and it pushed back its start time as lawmakers and staff rushed to change plans.
Monday’s hearing was set to resume with more live witnesses, with committee members saying they had uncovered enough evidence for the Justice Department to consider an unprecedented criminal charge against the former president. Stepien was subpoenaed for his public testimony.
Representative Speaker Bennie Thompson, D-Mississippi, and Representative Vice President Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, are expected to lead the morning hearing after last week’s blockbuster session drew nearly 20 million Americans for see his findings in prime time.
For a year, the committee has been investigating the most violent attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812 to ensure that such an assault never happens again. Lawmakers hope to show that Trump’s efforts to undo Joe Biden’s election victory posed a serious threat to democracy.
Stepien, a longtime Trump ally, oversaw the “conversion” of Trump’s presidential campaign into a “Stop the Steal” effort, according to a subpoena issued by the committee last fall. He is likely to face questions about what members of Trump’s inner circle were telling the president about the election results. Stepien is now a top campaign adviser to Trump-endorsed House candidate Harriet Hageman, who is challenging Cheney in Wyoming’s Republican primary.
In addition to Stepien, the committee is also expected to hear testimony from Chris Stirewalt, a former Fox News Channel political editor closely involved in election night coverage who supported the decision to declare Arizona as won by Biden. He wrote about his experiences later in an op-ed and could be asked about Trump’s actions as Fox New said Biden had won.
A second group of witnesses testifying Monday will be made up of election officials, investigators and experts likely to discuss Trump’s responses to the election, including dozens of unsuccessful legal challenges, and how his actions diverged. American standards.
Among them is former Atlanta U.S. attorney BJay Pak, who abruptly resigned after Trump pressured Georgia state officials to reverse his presidential defeat. Trump wanted to fire Pak as disloyal, but Pak resigned after Trump’s call urging Georgian Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to overturn Biden’s victory in the state became public knowledge.
The panel will also hear from former Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt, the only Republican on the electoral board and who faced criticism as the state election was called for Biden, and noted the Washington attorney and election attorney Benjamin Ginsberg.
As he ponders another run for the White House, Trump insists the committee’s investigation is a “witch hunt.” Last week, he said January 6 “represented the greatest movement in the history of our country”.
Nine people died in the riot and its aftermath, including a Trump supporter shot dead by police. More than 800 people were arrested in the siege, and members of two extremist groups were charged with rare sedition charges for their role in leading the charge against the Capitol.
During its prime-time hearing, the committee explained how Trump was repeatedly told by his trusted aides and officials at the highest levels of government that there was no voter fraud. on a scale that could have changed the outcome. But Trump continued his false claims about the election and waved to his supporters in Washington on Jan. 6 to overturn Biden’s victory as Congress had to certify the Electoral College results.
Additional evidence is expected to be released in hearings this week, focusing on Trump’s decision to ignore the election result and the court cases against him.
Monday’s hearing will also focus on the millions of dollars Trump’s team has contributed to fundraising in the run-up to Jan. 6, according to a committee aide who insisted on anonymity to discuss the details.
The committee said most of those interviewed in the inquiry are coming forward voluntarily, although some have wanted subpoenas to appear in public. Stepien was subpoenaed and Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich suggested the committee’s decision to call him was politically motivated.
Lawmakers have indicated that their most important audience member during the hearings could be Attorney General Merrick Garland, who must decide whether his department can and should prosecute Trump. They left no doubt as to their own view of whether the evidence is sufficient to prosecute.
“Once the evidence has been accumulated by the Justice Department, it must decide whether it can prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt the guilt of the president or anyone else,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California. , member of the panel. . “But they should be investigated if there is credible evidence, which I think there is.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, another member told CNN he had no intention of “breaking up” Garland, but noted that the committee had already set out in pleadings criminal laws that they thought Trump had raped.
“I think he knows, his staff knows, American lawyers know, what’s at stake here,” Raskin said.
No president or ex-president has ever been charged. Garland did not say if he would be ready to sue.
More articles from the BDN
#Trump #campaign #manager #withdraws #hearing
Post expires at 3:47pm on Friday June 24th, 2022